Scan barcode
david_slack110507's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I liked how it brought the cast of characters from the two books and had them all fully interact and within the same group as it allowed for characters that wouldn't really have interacted all that much without sharing scenes, and so this allowed for the two sets of characters from each book to have friendships with one another such as Addy and Phoebe as well as if it was brief like Phoebe and Nate. It also allowed for these characters to grow as they were given more screentime and it even allowed characters from the original One of Us is Lying book to come back and have some closure such as Keely and Vanessa, the latter of which, got surprisingly a lot of depth and screentime to develop and reform her character.
The plot was also pretty good as it once again centred around taking revenge against someone who had wronged the perpetrator and while it was obvious that the reintroduction of Jake into the narrative would mean that he would be somewhat involved with the main plot, the way that it was done and how it was revealed was well done. I didn't really guess who could be behind the new 'game' though the explanation and the backstory effort put into who was behind it was satisfying. I liked the flashbacks to before the events of One of Us is Lying as it meant that we could see Jake and Simon's relationship as well as also getting to flesh out Simon's character as we don't actually see a whole lot of him in the first book despite him being the cause for all the events that happen in this series.
I'm interested in reading Karen M McManus' other books as I have all of the ones that have been released and I just haven't gotten around to reading The Cousins as well as You'll Be the Death of Me despite having them for a good while. Either way, I enjoyed reading One of Us is Back and I just found it to be an easy and quite a quick read for me seeing as I've had a bit of a reading slump that has really slowed down my reading progress as well as it being a good and satisfying ending to the series/trilogy.
Graphic: Death, Violence, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Cursing, Drug use, Gun violence, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Cancer, Homophobia, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Car accident, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Classism
annamwallace66's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Outing, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
moonfromearth's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
It contains pretty much all of McManus's usual tropes that you're likely to recognize if you've read her books before, but this one felt less tied down to the teen drama cheesiness because many of the characters are now halfway through college or about to graduate high school. I found that made the characters seem to have a lot more depth in this installment, and I think that McManus's writing could benefit from writing some more of these older perspective characters. It was very cool to see what characters were chosen to be the perspective characters since the cast has grown so much since the first book, and I was really glad to see more of Addie since she was one of my favorites in the first two books.
Overall, One of Us is Back isn't the most thrilling of mystery novels, as it serves more as an extended epilogue to the stories of the characters in One of Us is Lying and One of Us is Next. It takes on a much slower pace, once in a while remembering that there's a mystery going on between moments that work towards wrapping up the crew's plotlines. Despite that, I still enjoyed the book, and would recommend the series as a whole. The One of Us is Lying series is a guilty pleasure for me. I've been following it for around seven years now and, despite its flaws, was a reading experience I'll always hold dear.
Graphic: Death, Kidnapping, and Murder
Moderate: Gun violence, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, and Alcohol
burnourhistory's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Stalking, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Minor: Cancer
saretta02's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.5
Graphic: Death, Violence, Kidnapping, and Murder
Moderate: Gun violence, Infidelity, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Alcoholism, Drug use, Rape, and Toxic relationship
neliadiedenise's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Homophobia, Infidelity, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
melodyseestrees's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
This book starts as possibly the slowest and most boring book of the trilogy. The first forty percent of the book contains a lot of set up and very little suspense. The characters also feel like they should all be in their late twenties, even though two of them are in their late teens. They don't feel old in the way most other traumatized characters do either. They seem mostly unphased by the events of the last two books other than when there is an active threat.
There are several potential antagonists being hinted at throughout the novel. This is often a very nice technique however I felt the technique was a bit fumbled upon the reveal.
The world is also unrealistic in how it handles certain events
The ending is a happy one with promises at a good future for all of them. Well for everyone who survives. Hooray for therapy!
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Cursing
Minor: Bullying, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
Drug use due to the drugging and kidnap of several characters, past and present. There is also mild discussion of the nonconsensual recording of characters during sex acts.hales_1243's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
In regards to a potential drug use trigger,
In regards to a potential sexual violence trigger,
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Cursing
16kneidels's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Kidnapping
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Outing, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
lauren_shilling's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Kidnapping, and Murder
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, and Alcohol